The present invention is directed to a device for performing an agglutination reaction of immunochemical particles. The agglutination reaction device is designed to provide a convenient means for performing and reading the results of an agglutination reaction.
Agglutination reactions and their procedures are generally well known in the art. A typical agglutination reaction consists of the clumping together (or aggregation) in suspension of antigen- or antibody-bearing cells, microorganisms, or particles in the presence of specific analytes. This clumping or agglutination of particles is then monitored to determine the absence or presence of an analyte sought to be detected.
One method for reacting immunochemical particle reagents is to place liquid reagents on a glass slide and generally rock or swirl the slide back and forth to cause the reagents to mix and form agglutinations. Methods have also been developed to avoid the necessary swirling of the particle reagents in order to visualize the agglutinations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,695 discloses an agglutination reaction chamber for reacting immunochemical particle reagents. The chamber includes a first transparent panel having a first surface and a second panel having a second surface spaced apart from the first surface to define a chamber between. The chamber intrinsically causes immunochemical particle reagents to flow by capillary action without an external motion imparted to the chamber during which flow the immunochemical particle reagents can react.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device that can be easily adapted for use in the automated diagnosis of a plurality of samples. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of performing multiple, highly sensitive, diagnostic tests simultaneously on a single sample in a single device. In particular, the present invention is directed toward a device that can be used in an automated fashion where the reaction can be rapidly performed and monitored with a minimum of sample material. In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a device having multiple channels radiating from a central well where multiple reactions on a single sample can be rapidly performed and monitored with a minimum of sample material with the results of such reactions being easily, visibly observable. In particular, the present invention is directed to an improved device for performing agglutination reactions which device has means for controlling the overall rate of liquid flow through the device comprising a porous absorbent material in liquid communication with a capillary chamber in the device. material in liquid communication with a capillary chamber in the device.